秋元克広

Katsuhiro Akimoto is a Japanese politician currently serving his third term as the Mayor of Sapporo. Born in Yubari, Hokkaido, he graduated from Hokkaido University's Faculty of Law and began his career as a civil servant in the Sapporo City government in 1979. Over the course of his administrative career, he held various leadership roles, including Deputy Mayor, before being elected mayor in 2015. During his tenure, he gained national attention for implementing Japan's first municipal partnership oath system for same-sex couples in 2017. While he initially pursued a bid to host the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, he ultimately abandoned these efforts in 2023 following a decline in public support and concerns regarding the bidding process.